Fifth Amendment use on the Hill

IRS official Lois Lerner is expected to use her Fifth Amendment right not to incriminate herself when she comes before the House Oversight Committee on Wednesday. Lerner, however, wouldn’t be the first person to refuse to answer questions at a congressional hearing — “Pleading the Fifth” has been used quite a few times in recent years.

During a September 2010 hearing investigating 1,600 salmonella illnesses caused that summer, CEO of Hillandale Farms, Orland Bethel, whose farm was connected to the outbreak, didn’t answer questions at a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee.